Sen. Mark Sanford, the Republican governor of South Carolina, admitted at a press conference this afternoon that he has been having an extramarital affair with a “dear, dear friend” in Argentina for the past year. Incidentally, he and his wife were on a trial separation.

Cuckolded wives and politicians go together like gravy and mashed potatoes. Maybe the wives aren’t surprised—Sanford’s wife apparently knew about his Argentinian affair for months—by the cheating the same way as the public is. But what gets me every time is when Silda Spitzer stands up next Eliot while he grovels for the public’s forgiveness, or Elizabeth Edwards invites Oprah into her home to talk about John’s affair, or Larry Craig’s wife, Suzanne, walks hand-in-hand to his press conference where he denies being gay. I just roll my eyes.Personally, I don’t care if they choose to stay with their husband or not. But whatever “crisis advisor” suggests to them that they should present a unified front underestimates the fact that some women don’t like watching other women look like total doormats.

We can’t condone violence on this blog (hi, lawyers!), but if I were one of those wives, I’d slap him in the face and pack my bags. And I certainly wouldn’t participate in my cheating husband’s sorry-ass hangdog public apology.

Bless you, Jenny Sanford, for not being at your husband’s side at the press conference in which he admitted his affair. Your husband confessed at his press conference, “Jenny has stood by me through campaign after campaign, through hard time after hard time, and neither she nor the boys deserve this.” And in herstatement, Jenny Sanford said:

“I believe wholeheartedly in the sanctity, dignity and importance of the institution of marriage. I believe that has been consistently reflected in my actions. When I found out about my husband’s infidelity I worked immediately to first seek reconciliation through forgiveness, and then to work diligently to repair our marriage. We reached a point where I felt it was important to look my sons in the eyes and maintain my dignity, self-respect, and my basic sense of right and wrong. I therefore asked my husband to leave two weeks ago.”